The present invention pertains to the field of underground sprinkling systems. More particularly, the present invention pertains to underground sprinkler systems operating using a pump. Even more particularly, the present invention pertains to underground sprinkler systems operated using a non-priming submersible pump with housing.
Persons living on a body of water often utilize the water as a source for sprinkling lawns and/or gardens to avoid having to pay water utility charges to maintain their horticulture.
Generally to implement such a watering system a pump is used to draw water from a source and pump it through a network of underground pipes to be dispensed through sprinkler heads. The pump generally utilized is a centrifugal type pump that requires xe2x80x9cprimingxe2x80x9d before it can be operated.
Priming the pump involves drawing water through a feed pipe into the pump, until all of the air is removed from the feed pipe and the cavity of the pump. Running the pump when there is air within the system can cause damage to the pump as well as to the sprinkling system.
Generally the pump must be primed before each use, as the system usually drains when not running. It is undesirable to have to prime a pump each time one wishes to utilize the sprinkling system. It is also undesirable to have to wait until the underground network of pipes becomes filled with water, before operating the system under full operating pressure to avoid damage to the sprinkling heads.
A multitude of submersible pumps with housings have been disclosed to the public as water pumping means, including those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,725 (A Top Suction Pump Including a Pump Housing) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,693,271 (A Horizontally Mounted Submersible Pump Assembly).
Neither of the reference patents teaches a pump and housing assembly suitable for use in a sprinkling system utilizing a non-municipal water source such as a lake or other such water source. Specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,725 teaches a pump and housing assembly for use in a sump. The vertical orientation of the pump is not suitable in a lake environment, due to the possibility of clogging due to weeds and other debris commonly found in such an environment.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,693,271 teaches a horizontally mounted pump assembly for pumping water from water storage tanks. Again, the pump assembly would not be suitable for use in a lake environment, because it has no design features to avoid clogging by debris, and is specifically designed for use for transferring water from storage tanks.
It is therefore, the purpose of the present invention to cure those deficiencies outlined above by providing a non-priming submersible pump assembly suitable for use in a lake environment to provide water for a sprinkling system.
In a first aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed an electrical non-priming submersible pump that includes a motor assembly that has a motor coupled to a shaft. The shaft has impellers associated therewith for propelling water. There is also included a housing assembly that surrounds the motor assembly. The housing assembly has an intake area that includes a multi-layer sediment protection system that prevents the introduction of debris into the housing as well as prevents the build-up of sediment on the exterior of the housing.
In a second aspect of the invention, there is disclosed a sprinkling system that includes an electrical non priming submersible pump, a control panel in communication with the pump to regulate liquid flow, a first means for connecting the pump to the control panel, a header pipe section, a second means for connecting the control panel to the header pipe section, at least one zone pipe section connected to the header pipe section, and at least one sprinkler head interposed within the at least one zone pipe section to supply water to a desired location.